Sunday, August 22, 2010

Bad Running Day

Yesterday morning I did my neighborhood 5k, in 38:30 which is a great time for me. The course I have mapped out is insanely hilly and there isn't any part of it I would consider flat. Either up or down. So this time really made me happy.

Then this morning I tried the same route again thinking I would do even better. The complete opposite happened actually. I managed to do the first mile ( up the a killer hill) in pretty good time, but it drained the life out of me. I started to jog the second mile but my body just shut down. I'm pretty sure it was 75% mental. My back felt tight and my legs weak, but I probably could have kept going. So I just walked home, thinking. This is when the discouragement reared its ugly head.

I've been doing this since on March 31. I've made a great deal of progress, from not being able to run 30 seconds to (sometimes/rarely) running as long as 40 minutes. But every mile still kills me. Whenever I start a jog, I'm out of breath within seconds. The first 1/2 mile of just about every run my legs feel like they are going to fall off. I'm sure if I weighed less it would help a great deal, but I've seemed to plateau at about 221-222lbs and its not budging. I'm getting frustrated, which is something I've avoided the past few months of doing this.

And now, next Sunday I have a 5K with a local running club. Based on last years results I should finish in 5th place. I mean 5 spots from last place. Ugh. What was I thinking?